Another Shell oil spill in Ogoni land raises fresh worries

A fresh oil spill on Trans-Niger pipeline in Bodo Community in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State has sparked worries in the area. It was gathered that the spill on the facility owned and operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, was noticed on Friday. Those who have knowledge of the spill in the community said it was not clear if the spillage was as a result of equipment failure or sabotage but that the actual cause of the spill has not been determined. he also said that the operator of the pipeline, SPDC, has not reach out to the people on the development. Meantime, the Media Relations Manager of SPDC, Mrs. Bola Essien-Nelson said the Shell will comment on the issue when it gets response from the management.

But, a community leader in Bodo, Peter Monghea, regretted that the spill came after an earlier spill that had unsettled the community and SPDC a year ago. Also, the Public Relations Officer of Bodo Youth Council, Burabari Pronen, called on Shell to immediately report to the incident site to ascertain the actual cause of the spill, adding that the spill needs to contained immediately. However, one of the leaders of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, who confirmed the incident, yesterday, expressed worries over the frequency of oil spill occurrences in the Ogoni region. Nsuke, who said it appeared that the spill had been contained called for a transparent investigation into the recurrent spillages in the area. 

Nsuke said “The frequency of oil spills in the Ogoni area raises questions about the integrity of oil assets in the entire Niger Delta region. We understand the spill has been contained and that the containment was prompt and averted serious pollution and the environmental problems that came with similar spills. That is commendable. However, we will expect a transparent and speedy investigation into the spill to enable a proper response that can avert similar cases in future”. He further called on called on the Bodo Community to cooperate with repair works and remediation efforts if initiated.